DEONTOLOGY Flashcards
What is deontology intro (1)?
deontology is based on the goodness of an action.
actions are good if they are in line with certain features that are independent from what they bring about
What are the 5 types of deontology -intro (2) - give 3 as examples
there are 5 types of deontology such as:
- duty - an action is right if it adheres to our duty
- contractionalism - an action is right if it adheres to an agreed contract
- divine command - an action is right if it adheres to the commands of God
What are Aquinas 5 types of deontology? give 3 - intro (3)
aqinas identifed 5 types of deontology such as:
- duties to others
- duties to family
- duties to God
What did Kant say about deontology (paragraph 1) 1st key feature
- Kant was a philosopher of the enlightenment
- He said that we have reason as it is an innate intellectual power that all people have
- Kant says that morality is independent of human experience so therefore it is a priori
What did Kant say about deontology (para 2) 1st key feature
- kant rejected happiness as a basis of morality as he said we cannot fulfil ourselves by focusing on happiness. this would make us selfish
- there desires are morally dangerous and could lead us down the wrong path
- Kant say that we give the most praise to the people who perform an action simply because they are required to (act from duty alone)
What is Kants 2 imperatives and what are they? (2nd key feature)
an imperative is something that must be done.
kant said there are two types of imperatives
1. hypothetical imperatives - a moral command that is conditional on personal motive or desire
2. categorical imperatives- tells us what we ought to do
What are Kants 3 imperatives that he created as a way of making moral decisions? (3rd key feature)
- universal law - an action must be ok in every place at every time in every situation for it to be ok for you to do
- humanity formula - humans must not be used, manipulated or hurt in order to gain an ethical end
- kingdom of ends - you must assume that everyone else is falling the moral law and pursuing the same moral good.
What is Summon Bonum? (4th key feature)
Kant argued that the universe is just and that the good will be rewarded and the bad punished in a post mortem experience
he uses the term summon bonum to describe the ultimate importance, of which all humans ought to pursue.
What did W.D Ross say ? (5th key feature)
he believed that we should consider our prima facie duties before performing an action.
- he identified 7 prima facie duties but didn’t see them as the final list:
e. g.
1. Justice - treating people fairly
2. self improvement - developing ourselves
3. Gratitude - returning a favour.
Give the 1st strength VS weakness for deontology..
STRENGTH -
Kant sees humans as beings of intrinsic worth and dignity as they are rational beings. Humans cannot be enslaved or exploited. this is the basic declaration of human rights
WEAKNESS -
Benthan criticised deontology on the grounds that is was essentially an intellectualised version of popular morality, and that the unchanging principles that deontologists attribute to natural law of universal reason are really a matter of subjective opinion
Give the 2nd strength VS weakness for deontology..
STRENGTH-
the principle of universability emphasises that moral actions cannot be just in one society and unjust in another
WEAKNESS-
however, in theory anything can be universalised but if they were they wouldn’t necessarily be moral.
Give the 3rd strength VS weakness for deontology..
STRENGTH-
motivation is valued over consequences, which are beyond our control. An immoral motive cannot be justified by unforeseen good consequences , but a good motive, is itself, worthy of value.
WEAKNESS-
Nagel and Williams argue that wants theory fails because it ignores the circumstance of a moral action
